Underneath the Underneath
by Phantomhobbitses
Summary: No one really knows him, even if they think they do. Nine truths about the ninth jinchuuriki.


Summary: No one really knows him, even if they think they do. Nine truths about the ninth jinchuuriki.

_How can you say you know a man when all he does is lie?_

Underneath the Underneath

If a stranger were to ask one of his friends 'what is Uzumaki Naruto like' they could list a hundred different things.

He loves ramen. His favorite color is orange. He's loud. He's cheerful. He's kind of stupid. His dream is to be Hokage.

But that's not really knowing him. A list of favorites and outer appearances isn't _knowing_ a person. No one ever really took the time to look beneath the smiles and the loud voice. Everyone just figured they knew him already. What don't they know? Naruto wears his emotions on his sleeve and announces whatever's on his mind. You can't pretend to _not_ know him.

-1-

But no one knows that he keeps plants in his apartment because when he was younger they were the only living things that would listen to him. He keeps plants in his apartment because he was lonely and at least it's something. He keeps plants in his apartment because they depend on him, and it's nice to be needed. He keeps plants in his apartment because it's nice to know something can't go on living without him.

-2-

His favorite color isn't orange. Or at least it wasn't. When he was younger he wore more blue then orange. But no one ever acknowledged him. Not until he wore an orange shirt one day and Teuchi commented on the sheer brightness (Naruto liked bright colors) of it and how 'you couldn't miss Naruto coming down the block in _that_.' Naruto had smiled and asked for a large bowl of miso ramen. And as he was leaving Ichiraku he speculated that maybe all the people that were staring at him and whispering had only noticed his new, bright shirt.

-3-

He lived in eight different places by the time he was nine. Being a ninja village there are a lot of care services in Konoha. Many of which were places for orphaned children. There were a lot of orphaned children, though most of them had _some_ family member to go to. As an infant he had lived in the Sandaime's house because he had been scared of the neglect Naruto may have gotten. At age two he moved into a foster home. At age four he moved into another. By the time he was seven he had lived in four more. At age nine there was no one left in Konoha that would take him in and the Hokage figured he was old enough to live on his own. Most people would consider _that_neglect, but really it was done to save Naruto.

-4-

Naruto doesn't like ramen. He _loves_ ramen. He had had it when he was younger and he enjoyed it, after all it was cheap and it tasted good, especially if he went to Ichiraku. Though what made ramen Naruto's all time favorite food was when one day Iruka had smiled at him after an hour of detention and offered to treat him to Ichiraku. Naruto didn't know ate age nine that Iruka was being a little cheap, after all he was working on a teacher's salary. All Naruto knew was that it was the absolute best meal he'd ever eaten in his entire life for two reasons. One, Iruka had paid for him, he'd done something _nice_ for _him_, and two he hadn't eaten it alone, which was a true blessing.

-5-

Naruto didn't really hate vegetables, at least not all of them. He didn't really buy them but what child willingly bought himself vegetables. He liked the corn that came on top of his cup ramen. He liked the sweet potatoes he had had deep fried once at a festival (and had found a day later he liked regular sweet potatoes too.) But of course he didn't tell Kakashi he liked vegetables. Especially not when he had taken time out of his _busy_ schedule to sit on the window ledge of his apartment and tell him to eat some. He kind of liked having someone worrying over him and he had to work to hide his smile, at least until after Kakashi left the basket on his kitchen table and carried on with his day.

-6-

Naruto pulled pranks in order to make himself feel better. Being the container for the Kyuubi he always had people staring at him, whispering behind their hands, and the label of monster. At age six he decided he didn't like people staring at him and whispering about him for no reason. So he decided to give them a reason for those hurtful eyes that stared at him with such cruelty because he knew they wouldn't _stop_. He misbehaved so that when someone glared at him and called him a demon he knew _why_ they said it. Naruto hated not knowing what was going on especially when it involved him.

-7-

Naruto's not stupid. People think he's dumb but he's not. Not paying attention in school doesn't mean he isn't smart because he _is_ smart. And he's observant. He watches the people around him and he knows what makes them tick and what reassures them. He knows how to get the stoic, perfect, antisocial Sasuke to snap with a single word. He knows how to smile to convince the villagers he's happy with what he's done to the Hokage Mountain. He also knows just the right way to smile (because they are very different) in order to convince Sakura that he's confident and happy. He also knows that that smile doesn't convince Kakashi. So he learns the tone of voice he needs to use to convince Kakashi that everything is alright. But the second they're out of sight his smile falls, his tone becomes bitter and he's happy he can fool them so that they aren't worrying. But he also wishes that once, just once, someone will tell him to stop smiling when he's not happy.

-8-

He wants to be Hokage. It isn't about the power. It isn't about protecting the village, at least not at first. It's not even about the respect. Well, it is about the respect. No one can insult him if he's Hokage. They can't call him a monster or a demon or look down on him in anyway, because he's _Hokage_. He's the best, he's in charge of all of them, and he would give his life to protect them and they _must_ know that. But he really wanted to be Hokage because that would mean he was strong. Not just stronger than Sasuke but the strongest. Because Sasuke may be a genius but he's not the _Hokage_. Becoming Hokage was, at first, about what it meant to Naruto. It'd mean he was strong. Not weak like everyone called him while in the academy. It'd mean he went somewhere all on his own with _his_ strength. No born talent, no special blood, but ordinary dead-last Naruto got somewhere without anybody else's help. _He'd_ made something of _himself._

-9-

He never gave up, not because he didn't know how, but because he knew it simply wasn't an option. You take the easy way out once and it might become a habit. Break your resolve once and it will be easier to break it in the future. And he couldn't have that happening, after all he was Naruto, he was the future _Hokage_. And yes he really was that confident. He had to be.


End file.
